THE man who is the public face of a college board which has rocked local education says what happened on the day 47 jobs were slashed should remain a secret.

Former Pendle Mayor, Liberal councillor John David, is one of 15 people on the Board of Incorporation at Nelson and Colne College which voted unanimously for the cuts.

As other politicians demanded to see the books, called for an audit of what is likely to happen to A-levels in Pendle and urged ministerial intervention, Mr David remained tight-lipped.

He would only say he was extremely concerned and that it was a very serious situation.

He would not comment on reports that most of the board members knew nothing about the plan to cut jobs until after being presented with a fait accompli and expected to rubber stamp a decision.

And he also declined to say why he did not call for the jobs cuts to be held in abeyance until board members had a chance to read documents given out at the meeting.

Events at the college have been described as scandalous by Mr David's fellow Liberal councillors, who have sided with college lecturers in saying the future of A-level courses could be at risk because of the cuts.

Councillor Tony Greaves said: "The college governors now mainly consist of a self-perpetuating group who try to run it like a private company and keep it as secret as they possibly can, unaccountable to anyone.

"The fact is that the college is mainly using public funds raised from the public by public taxes, and the public has a right to know the facts."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.